Internet protocol session persistence for mobile communications

ABSTRACT

Providing for mobile communications incorporating Internet Protocol (IP) persistence is described herein. By way of example, IP persistence can be implemented for a mobile device receiving IP data content over a mobile network. Particularly, if the mobile device encounters a region of poor wireless coverage, the IP data content can be transmitted to the mobile device over a plurality of base stations concurrently. Thus, the IP persistence can comprise duplicating the IP data content and transmitting separate independent wireless transmissions of the content to the mobile device from separate cells or separate transmitters. The duplicate transmitting can be continued while the mobile device is within the region of poor wireless coverage, until a suitable quality of service or quality of experience parameter is met for a serving network, or the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application for patent is a divisional application of, and claimspriority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/305,492, entitledINTERNET PROTOCOL SESSION PERSISTENCE FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS andfiled Nov. 28, 2011, which application is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject disclosure relates to wireless communications, and moreparticularly to providing persistence for an Internet Protocol sessionestablished for mobile communications.

BACKGROUND

Mobile equipment networks provide real-time wireless communicationservices to subscriber communication terminals, through a planneddeployment of radio access base stations. Base stations are carefullypositioned throughout the deployment to provide seamless wirelesscoverage for a geographic area served by a mobile equipment network.Because gaps in base station coverage result in communication deadspots, or areas without wireless service, network operators tend tocarefully test base station deployments to identify and correct gaps inwireless coverage.

Many causes of service outage exist, including static, mobile and evenrandom causes. Common examples include physical structures, such asbuildings, highways, bridges, and the like, and geographical contourssuch as steep valleys, hills, mountains, and so on. In many situations,dead spots can be addressed through installation of additional basestations, including micro or pico base stations, within areas receivingpoor coverage from a macro network deployment. However, some causes ofpoor service can be transitory, or even random, and difficult toanticipate or correct. Accordingly, existing research and developmentefforts in mobile network technology are aimed at addressing problems inwireless coverage and improving call drops, dead zones, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example system that providesInternet Protocol (IP) persistence in mobile communications, in somedisclosed aspects.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a sample system that decodes multipleconcurrent streams at a mobile device according to particular aspectsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of an example mobile network coverage areahaving locations with poor wireless service, according to one or moreaspects.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a sample wireless communicationbetween a mobile network and a mobile device according to some aspects.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example network entityconfigured for providing IP persistence in mobile communications.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C depict diagrams of an example mobile environment inwhich IP persistence can be implemented, according to additionalaspects.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providing IPpersistence in mobile communications, according to other aspects.

FIGS. 8 and 9 depict a flowchart of a sample method for providing IPpersistence with a plurality of data streams from a plurality of basestations, in an aspect.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of estimatingmobile travel and triggering IP persistence in response to the estimate,in other aspects.

FIG. 11 depicts a block diagram of an example mobile handset that can beconfigured for operation in conjunction with one or more disclosedaspects.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a sample wireless communicationnetwork that can be operable for facilitating one or more disclosedaspects.

FIG. 13 depicts a block diagram of an example electronic computer devicethat can be implemented in conjunction with still other disclosedaspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed subject matter is now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the disclosed subject matter. It may beevident, however, that the disclosed subject matter can be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate describing thedisclosed subject matter.

Where used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”module”, “interface,” and the like are intended to refer to acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational apparatuswith one or more specific functionalities, wherein the entity can beeither hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, acircuit, a logic gate, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,a program, or a computer. By way of illustration, both an applicationrunning on a server/client and the server/client can be a component. Oneor more components can reside within a process or thread of executionand a component can be localized on one computer or distributed betweentwo or more computers. Also, components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local or remote processes such as inaccordance with a signal having one or more symbols, data packets, etc.(e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in alocal system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as theInternet with other systems via the signal). As another example, acomponent can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided bymechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry, which isoperated by a software or firmware application executed by a processor,wherein the processor can be internal or external to the apparatus andexecutes at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yetanother example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can include a processor, a state machine, anintegrated circuit, etc., therein to execute software or firmware thatconfers at least in part the functionality of the electronic components.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the naturalinclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A, X employs B, or Xemploys both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any ofthe foregoing instances. Moreover, articles “a” and “an” as used in thesubject specification and annexed drawings should be construed to mean“one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to bedirected to a singular form.

Moreover, terms like “user equipment (UE),” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “subscriber equipment,” “access terminal,”“terminal,” “handset,” and similar terminology, refer to a wirelessdevice utilized by a subscriber or user of a wireless communicationservice to receive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming,or other suitable data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably in the subject specification and relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point (AP),” “base station,” “NodeB,” “evolved Node B (eNode B),” “home Node B (HNB),” “home access point(HAP),” and the like, refer to a wireless network component or appliancethat serves and receives data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming, orother suitable data-stream or signaling-stream from a set of subscriberstations, except where context or definition warrants distinctions amongthe term(s). Data and signaling streams can be packetized or frame-basedflows.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer,”“prosumer,” “agent,” and the like are employed interchangeablythroughout the subject specification, unless context warrants particulardistinction(s) among the terms. It should be appreciated that such termscan refer to human entities or automated components supported throughartificial intelligence (e.g., a capacity to make inference based oncomplex mathematical formalisms) which can provide simulated vision,sound recognition and so forth.

Increase in consumer use of wireless communication and near ubiquitouspenetration of mobile electronic communication devices within theconsumer public has put great demand on mobile communication serviceproviders. This demand can vary, depending on content consumed bysectors of the public. For instance, circuit-switched voice traffic hasone set of quality or performance goals, whereas packet-switched dataand voice traffic often have a different set of quality or performancegoals. Moreover, dynamic demographics of content consumption can varywith geographic location, time of day, or in response to large-scalepublic events (e.g., concerts, sporting events, rallies, politicalevents, etc.), and can even vary among type of such events.

Mobile data services often benefit significantly from newer data-relatednetworks. Browsing applications can perform significantly better in athird generation (3G) wireless network, for instance, as compared with asecond generation (2G) wireless network. Similarly for streaming video,streaming audio, and packet-switched voice applications (e.g., voiceover Internet Protocol (IP), audio chat, audio and video chat, etc.). Incontrast, circuit-switched voice traffic often observes limited benefitson a 3G network, and can even be negatively impacted if the 3G networkis at or near subscriber capacity, and few wireless resources areavailable. In many day-to-day circumstances, it is ideal for mobilenetwork operators to alleviate loading on 3G networks.

One way to support a packet-based data network is through supplementarypacket-based networks. As one particular example, a 3G macro basestation network can be supplemented by a local or regional access pointbase station network. As utilized herein, a macro base station refers toa cellular tower, transceiver, or the like, communicating withsubscriber terminals on licensed cellular frequencies. Access point basestations, as utilized herein, employ non-cellular frequencies, whetherlicensed or unlicensed. An example of an access point base station,then, can include a Wi-Fi router, transceiver, base station, or thelike. As utilized herein, Wi-Fi is intended to refer to wirelesssignaling including the IEEE 802.11 family of standards (e.g., 802.11 a,b, g, n, etc.), but is not intended to be limited by time-varyingassociations between the Wi-Fi trademark owned by Wi-Fi Alliance andgoods or services sold under that trademark. Rather, Wi-Fi is utilizedherein to refer to any now existing 802.11 wireless standards(incorporated herein by reference in their entireties) or futuredeveloped 802.11 wireless standards. Furthermore, it should beappreciated, that access point base stations are not limited to Wi-Fibase stations, but can include other wireless communication equipmentutilizing 802.xx standards (e.g., BlueTooth®, ZigBee®, . . . ).

To alleviate load on macro networks, access point base stations can bedeployed as an alternative wireless network access point for wirelessdata services. In many deployments, access point base stations canprovide a cost effective way to supplement demand for mobile dataservices. Current deployments require a user to select Wi-Fi as anaccess technology. New approaches are being developed in which a mobiledevice can switch to a Wi-Fi access point automatically, but thisintroduces a problem when an IP session exists for such a mobile device.In some wireless protocols, IP sessions are not maintained duringtransition from one network to an access point network (e.g., from 3G toWi-Fi). Implementation of automatic Wi-Fi selection can result indropped calls, interrupted data downloads, loss of browsing service,interrupted streaming media, and the like. Particularly for sessionsinvolving streaming media, these interruptions can significantly impactuser experience of mobile service.

Example embodiments of the subject disclosure can provide a mechanism toprovide IP session persistence in transitioning from a macro deploymentto an access point deployment. This can mitigate or avoid barriersrelated to automatic access point selection, or access point handover,and enabling subscriber equipment to maintain calls or data applicationswhen traveling from macro coverage to access point coverage. In anexample embodiment, IP sessions persistence can provide a much moreseamless transition for mobile communication and media services fordeployments having multiple access point technologies.

In various aspects of the subject disclosure, mobile communicationsincorporating Internet Protocol (IP) persistence is described herein. IPpersistence can be implemented for a mobile device receiving IP datacontent over a mobile network. In an example embodiment, if the mobiledevice encounters a region of poor wireless coverage, the IP datacontent can be transmitted to the mobile device over a plurality of basestations. Thus, the IP persistence can comprise duplicating the IP datacontent and transmitting separate independent wireless transmissions ofthe content to the mobile device from separate cells or separatetransmitters.

In at least one aspect, the IP persistence can be implemented byleveraging a deployment of access point base stations (e.g., Wi-Firouters, Femto cells, etc.) in conjunction with a macro deployment. If amobile device receiving IP data content encounters a poor coverage zone,stored locations of access point transmitters can be referenced toidentify an access point base station in range of the mobile device.Upon identifying a suitable access point base station, the IP datacontent can be delivered through a macro base station and an accesspoint base station, concurrently. The content transmitted via the macrobase station can be handed off to another macro base station similar toa mobile handover. Likewise, content transmitted via the access pointbase station can be handed off to another access point base station,utilizing mobility equipment deployed for the access point basestations.

In further aspects, IP data content can be sequenced for proper playbackat a mobile device. Data packets copied for transmission over separatebase stations can be given common sequence numbers in the separatestreams, enabling the mobile device to properly compile the IP datacontent from the separate streams. In at least one aspect, the mobiledevice can selectively pick one data packet of a set of data packetshaving an identical sequence. Selection of a data packet can be based onsuccessful decoding of the packet at the mobile device. In particularaspects, respective data packets can also be given a quality orperformance metric based on a quality of service parameter, or qualityof experience parameter, which can be utilized at least in part by themobile device in selecting data packets.

In example aspects, mobile device location can be tracked over time toestimate a direction of travel for the mobile device. The mobile devicelocation or direction of travel can be referenced against storedlocations of network service problems. If the mobile device is within ornear such a location, or headed toward such a location, IP persistencecan be triggered to mitigate or avoid loss of service as a result ofentering a region having poor coverage. In some aspects, triggering IPpersistence can be conditioned on a mobile network policy, or mobiledevice policy. The mobile network policy can include a business plan,subscription plan, or the like, whereas mobile device policy can includecapabilities of the mobile device (e.g., capability of receiving anddecoding multiple streams concurrently, or multiple streams on differentwireless technologies concurrently, etc.), user preferences, and so on.

As described herein, IP persistence can provide significant benefits inmobile communication. As mobile devices move throughout a geographicregion, supplemental content transmissions can be initiated on multiplewireless transmissions to mitigate or avoid data loss on a particularwireless transmission. In some aspects, multiple transmissions can beconducted over disparate wireless technologies, to avoid or mitigateinterference, poor signal, overcapacity, or like problems on a firstwireless technology. Accordingly, various aspects of the subjectdisclosure improve wireless content delivery even known areas havingservice problems.

This description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certainillustrative aspects of the disclosed subject matter. These aspects areindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples disclosed herein can be employed and the disclosed subjectmatter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.Aspects and features of the disclosed subject matter will becomeapparent from this detailed description when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of anexample system 100 that can be configured to provide IP sessionpersistence in conjunction with mobile communications, according tovarious aspects of the subject disclosure. System 100 can comprise amobile device 102 communicatively connected to one or more mobilenetworks 104 over a wireless interface. Mobile network(s) 104 cancomprise a macro base station deployment, and can also comprise one ormore access point base station deployments, such as a Wi-Fi access pointor network of Wi-Fi access points.

As depicted, mobile device 102 can comprise a plurality of radioantennas, including a first radio antenna, antenna₁ 106 throughantenna_(X) 108 (referred to collectively as antennas_(1-X) 106-108),where X is a suitable integer greater than one. Further, the pluralityof radio antennas can be configured to transmit and receive separatewireless data streams for mobile device 102, concurrently. In particularaspects, antenna₁ 106 can be configured to transmit and receive on afirst radio frequency, whereas antenna_(X) 108 can be configured totransmit and receive on a different radio frequency. As a particularexample, antenna₁ 106 can be employed by mobile device 102 for wirelesscommunication on a cellular frequency according to a cellular protocol,whereas antenna_(X) 108 can be employed for wireless communication on aWi-Fi frequency according to a Wi-Fi protocol, concurrently. It shouldbe appreciated that antenna₁ 106 through antenna_(X) 108 can beconfigured or reconfigured to communicate on different radio frequencytechnologies for different communications. For instance, antenna₁ 106can be employed to communicate with a first wireless technology for onecall (e.g., a first cellular frequency, a Wi-Fi frequency), and with asecond wireless technology for another call (e.g., a second cellularfrequency, the Wi-Fi frequency).

Additionally, mobile device 102 can comprise a multiple signalprocessing system 110, which can be configured to receive and processseparate data streams over antennas_(1-X) 106-108. Particularly,multiple signal processing system 110 can comprise a receiving component112 that can be configured to receive a plurality of signals over aplurality of wireless channels via antennas_(1-X) 106-108. In aparticular example, the plurality of wireless channels can include acellular wireless channel providing a first stream of data content,stream₁ 114, and a Wi-Fi wireless channel providing a second stream ofdata content, stream₂ 116. Receiving component 112 can be configured topass data packets of the respective streams to a data managementcomponent 120 for reconstructing a transmitted data signal from theplurality of signals.

Data management component 120 can be configured to select a first subsetof data packets from one of the plurality of signals (e.g., stream₁ 114)and a second subset of data packets from a second of the plurality ofsignals (e.g., stream₂ 116) and concatenate the first subset and secondsubset of data packets and generate a compiled stream 122. Compiled datastream 122 can be a reproduction of a transmitted data streamtransmitted by mobile network(s) 104. Compiled stream 122 can beforwarded to an output component 124 that can be configured to providethe concatenated first subset and second subset of data packets to amobile device application 126. Mobile device application 126 can be asuitable application configured to operate on a mobile device (e.g., acellular phone, . . . ) and consume IP data content. Examples of mobiledevice application can include a web browser, a streaming video player,a streaming audio player, a streaming media player, a voice over IP(VoIP) application, or the like, or a suitable combination thereof.

In at least one aspect of the subject disclosure, the one of theplurality of signals and the second of the plurality of signals can beduplicate streams of IP data content. One of these duplicate streams canbe transmitted by the mobile network(s) 104 over a macro base station,and the second of these duplicate streams can be transmitted over anaccess point base station, in a particular aspect of the subjectdisclosure. To compile the original IP data content, multiple signalprocessing system 110 can be configured to select one of each set ofunique data packets from the duplicate streams, to derive thetransmitted data packets. In a particular aspect, each data packet of aset of unique data packets can be given a sequence number, or othersuitable identifier, to distinguish data packets of a set from datapackets of another set. As described herein, selecting one data packetfrom each set can be based on a quality of service function, a qualityof experience function (e.g., quality of service parameters coupled withplayback capabilities of mobile device application 126 or mobile device102), a signal quality function, or the like, or a suitable combinationthereof. Selected data packets can be concatenated with other selecteddata packets to generate compiled stream 122, which can be forwarded tomobile device application 126 for playback at a user interface of mobiledevice 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example system 200 implementingIP session persistence according to particular aspects of the subjectdisclosure. System 200 can comprise a macro base station deployment,including macro base station 206, in addition to an access point basestation deployment, including Wi-Fi access point 204. Macro base station206 and Wi-Fi access point 204 can be concurrently conducting wirelesscommunication with a mobile device 202. For instance, Wi-Fi access point204 can exchange wireless signals with a first antenna of mobile device202 (e.g., see FIG. 1, infra) utilizing a Wi-Fi communication protocol,whereas macro base station 206 can exchange wireless signals with asecond antenna of mobile device 202. In a particular aspect, thiscommunication arrangement can be leveraged to implement the IP sessionpersistence mentioned above. Particularly, a copy of IP data content canbe transmitted by Wi-Fi access point 204 as a set of sequenced Wi-Fidata packets 212 within a first wireless message 210 to mobile device202, while another copy of the IP data content can be transmitted bymacro base station 206 as a set of sequenced cellular data packets 216within a second wireless message 214. Thus, two copies of the IP datacontent are transmitted to mobile device 202, a first copy from Wi-Fiaccess point 204 and a second copy from macro base station 206.

In a particular aspect of the subject disclosure, respective copies ofthe IP data content are transmitted as respective sequenced packets.Packets containing similar data also include a common sequence number.Thus, as one illustrative example, sequenced packets 212 comprises apacket P₁ having a sequence number 1, a packet P₂ having a sequencenumber of 2, a packet P₃ having a sequence number 3, and so on, up to apacket P_(X) having a sequence number of X, where X is a suitablepositive integer. Each data packet within sequenced packets 212 has acorresponding data packet within sequenced packets 216 with an identicalsequence number. Therefore, according to this example, sequenced packets216 can comprise a packet having a sequence number 1, a packet having asequence number 2, a packet having a sequence number 3, and so on, up tothe packet having the sequence number X. Based on this arrangement,mobile device 202 can be configured on the assumption that data packetshaving identical sequence numbers include the same or similar subsets ofthe IP data content.

Mobile device 202 can comprise a multiple signal processing system 208that can be configured for receiving, decoding, filtering andrecompiling the IP data content from the sequenced packets 212 withinwireless message 210 and the sequenced packets 216 within wirelessmessage 214. In at least one aspect of the subject disclosure, multiplesignal processing system 208 can be substantially similar to multiplesignal processing system 110 of FIG. 1, infra; although the subjectdisclosure is not limited to this aspect(s), and in other aspectsmultiple signal processing system 208 can include some or all of thecomponents and functionality, or other components and functionality ofmultiple signal processing system 110.

A memory component 220 can be configured to extend a look-ahead databuffer of multiple signal processing system 208 (or mobile device 202)in response to receiving a plurality of signals (e.g., wireless message210 and wireless message 214) concurrently over the plurality ofwireless channels with Wi-Fi access point 204 and macro base station206. A data integrity component 218 can be configured to receive a firstsubset of data packets within a first data stream₁ associated withsequenced packets 212 and a second subset of data packets within asecond data stream₂ associated with sequenced packets 216. Further, dataintegrity component 218 can be configured to compare a data packet ofthe first subset of data packets to a condition defined by a dataintegrity function, and to compare a corresponding second data packet ofthe second subset of data packets to a second condition defined by asecond data integrity function. In particular aspects of the subjectdisclosure, the first and second data integrity functions can be relatedto a quality of service algorithm, quality of experience algorithm, orthe like, associated with transmitted data packets or with respectivewireless signals between mobile device 202 and Wi-Fi access point 204and macro base station 206. As an example, the data integrityfunction(s) can be configured to identify a lower integrity data packetamong a data packet of sequenced packets 212 and a corresponding seconddata packet of sequenced packets 216, in response to the comparisons.Packet integrity information can be provided to a data managementcomponent 224.

Multiple signal processing system 208 can further comprise a sequencingcomponent 222 that can be configured to identify a sequence numberwithin data packets of sequenced packets 212 and within data packets ofsequenced packets 216. Upon identifying the sequence numbers, sequencecomponent 222 can be configured to match data packets of sequencedpackets 212 with corresponding data packets of sequenced packets 216having an identical sequence number. The matched data packets can beprovided to a data management component 224, which obtains packetintegrity information for sets of corresponding data packets from dataintegrity component 218. Data management component 224 can then selectone of a set of matched data packets, and compile the selected datapackets to reproduce the IP data content transmitted by Wi-Fi accesspoint 204 and macro base station 206. The compiled data packets areoutput in a compiled stream message 226, which can be utilized by anapplication of mobile device 202 to playback the information containedin the IP data content on user interface components of mobile device202.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of an example network region 300 accordingto aspects of the subject disclosure. Network region 300 can comprise amacro base station 302 configured for serving a cell 304 of networkregion 300. Cell 304 is bounded roughly by a hexagonal boundary 310, andborders other cells of network region 300, as depicted. In addition,network region 300 can comprise one or more dead zones, depicted byblack squares. Dead zones are areas of poor cellular coverage withinnetwork region 300. A suitable metric for determining what constitutespoor cellular coverage can be employed by a network service provideroperating a macro base station within network region 300 (a deploymentthat includes macro base station 302). The metric can be compared withtransmissions received by macro base station 302 from a mobile device312 (or other mobile devices), or transmissions received at the mobiledevice 312 from macro base station 302, or a suitable combinationthereof. Signal metrics from different geographic segments 316 (e.g.,illustrated by respective squares of network region 300) of networkregion 300 can be utilized to evaluate the respective geographicsegments 316. Geographic segments 316 having signal metrics that satisfya condition defined by a function that establishes the metric for poorcellular coverage, can be labeled a dead zone. Dead zones are listed asblack geographic regions in network region 300. Single dead zones 308are labeled as single black squares. A larger region with multiplecontiguous dead zone segments is listed in aggregated dead zone 306.Locations of geographic segments 316 having dead zones can be stored ina data store by the network service provider, and utilized to determinewhether mobile device 312 is within or nearing a dead zone geographicsegment 316.

A mobile network service provider can utilize stored locations of singledead zones 308 and aggregated dead zones 306, in conjunction with alocation of mobile device 312 to determine whether mobile device 312 isin danger of receiving poor wireless coverage. This determination canfacilitate predicting poor coverage and implementing IP sessionpersistence to mitigate or avoid negative consequences of poor coverage.

In at least one aspect of the subject disclosure, a network serviceprovider can estimate a direction of travel 314 of mobile device 312 andpredict whether poor coverage will result from the direction of travel314. As depicted by the dashed arrow, mobile device 312 can be movingwithin network region 300 along the direction of travel. By comparingthe direction of travel 314 with locations of single dead zones 308 andaggregated dead zones 306, an estimation can be made whether mobiledevice 312 will encounter a dead zone. This estimation can be utilizedto trigger IP session persistence to mitigate or avoid loss of servicefor mobile device 312.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless system 400configured to provide IP session persistence in mobile communications.Wireless system 400 can comprise a network 402 configured for wirelesscommunication with a mobile device 404. Network 402 can communicate withmobile device 404 from a plurality of base stations, including at leasta macro base station and an access point base station. The plurality ofbase stations can be represented generally as a wireless interface 428.

Mobile device 404 can comprise one or more processors 406 for executinginstructions stored in one or more memories 408. The instructions can berelated to other systems and components of mobile device 404. Likewise,network 402 can comprise one or more processors 424 for executinginstructions in one or more memories 426 associated with components ofnetwork 402. Particularly, network 402 can comprise a signal component410 that can be configured to estimate signal performance of mobiledevice 404. The estimation can be based at least in part on position ofmobile device 404 relative to a set of stored locations for whichnetwork signal performance satisfies a condition defined by aperformance function (e.g., signal strength, signal quality, quality ofservice, quality of experience, or other suitable performance metrics).If mobile device 404 enters or comes near one of the set of storedlocations, or optionally where a wireless signal between mobile device404 and a first base station (e.g., a macro base station, an accesspoint base station, . . . ) fails to satisfy the condition, network 402can be configured to identify an alternate network access point suitablefor serving mobile device 404. A bifurcation component 412 can beconfigured to cause content to be duplicated and transmitted to mobiledevice 404 via the first base station and an alternate network accesspoint concurrently. The duplicated transmissions are depicted bywireless stream₁ 416 and wireless stream₂ 418. The duplicated streamscan be received at mobile device 404 and processed by multiple signalprocessing system 414 to reproduce data content transmitted by therespective base stations, as described herein (e.g., see FIGS. 1 and 2,supra).

In some aspects, mobile device 420 can comprise a signal quality system420, which can be configured to report a signal quality metric 422 tonetwork 402. The signal quality metric can be utilized by bifurcationcomponent 412 as a second condition in determining whether to duplicatecontent and cause the duplicated content to be transmitted concurrentlyby a macro base station and an access point base station to mobiledevice 404. For instance, bifurcation component 412 can be configured,as a first condition, to determine whether mobile device 404 is withinor near a set of stored networks location associated with poor wirelessservice. As a second condition, bifurcation component can compare metric422 to a signal performance metric to determine whether an existingsignal between mobile device 404 and the first base station is adequate.Bifurcation component 412 can be configured to cause the content to beduplicated, as described above, upon satisfaction of the firstcondition, satisfaction of the second condition, or satisfaction of thefirst and second conditions. Such configuration can be implemented as apolicy by a service provider that controls network 402.

In particular aspects of the subject disclosure, network 402 cancomprise an anticipation component 434 configured to monitor changes inposition of mobile device 404. The position can be determined solely bynetwork positioning techniques employed by network 402, in one aspect.In another aspect, mobile device 404 can comprise a location component430 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), a user location inputentered on a user interface of mobile device 404, or the like) thatgenerates a position 432 of mobile device 404 and that sends position432 to network 402 in a wireless message. In yet another aspect, acombination of the foregoing can be employed to acquire and monitorchanges in the position of mobile device 404. By monitoring theposition, anticipation component 434 can anticipate a future position ofmobile device 404 (e.g., see direction of travel 314 of FIG. 3, supra)relative to a subset of the set of stored locations, and triggerbifurcation component 412 to send content to mobile device 404 inwireless stream₁ 416 and wireless stream₂ 418 over respective networkbase stations if the future position interacts with the subset of thestored locations.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example network system 500according to additional aspects of the subject disclosure. Networksystem 500 can comprise a mobile network 502, which can include aplurality of radio access network deployments (not depicted, but seeWi-Fi access point 204 and macro base station 206 of FIG. 2, supra)communicatively connected to a mobile location system 504. Mobilelocation system 504 can also be communicatively connected to a networkdatabase 506. Network database 506 can comprise stored informationpertaining to network service quality. Particularly, network database506 can comprise cell boundary locations stored in a cell boundary file510, low service zone locations stored in a low service zone file 512,and access point base station locations stored in an access pointlocation file 514.

Mobile location system 504 can be configured to determine whether amobile device is within or will come within a poor service qualityregion. In such case, mobile location system can be further configuredto determine whether an IP session is active for the mobile device. Ifthe mobile device is within or will come within the poor service qualityregion, and has an active IP session, IP session persistence can beimplemented for the mobile device, to mitigate or avoid loss of servicefor the IP session.

Mobile location system 504 can comprise a position component 508configured to obtain position data for a mobile device served by mobilenetwork 502. The position data can derived from signals received by aset of base stations, which are forwarded to position component 508, orcan be generated by the mobile device and transmitted to the basestation. Network position data can be derived from a networkmulti-lateration process, timed fingerprint location process (e.g., asprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/724,424 entitled TimedFingerprint Location in Wireless Networks and filed Feb. 25, 2010, theentirety of which is incorporated by reference herein), or anothersuitable network-facilitated mobile positioning process.

Once obtained, mobile position information is referenced against storedlocations of cell boundaries contained in cell boundaries file 510(e.g., see cell boundary 310 of FIG. 3, infra), or referenced againststored locations of poor wireless service contained in low service zonesfile 512, or a combination thereof. Based on position of the mobiledevice relative to cell boundaries or other stores problem areas, anassessment can be made as to whether the mobile device is at risk ofservice loss. If the assessment satisfies a service loss condition, abifurcation component 516 can be executed. Bifurcation component 516 canbe configured to reference a list of stored access point base stations(e.g., Wi-Fi base stations, Femto cell locations, . . . ) relative tothe position of the mobile device. If a suitable access point basestation is identified, for instance that is within wireless range of themobile device, bifurcation component 516 can be configured to issue acommand to the mobile device, instructing the mobile device to registerfor wireless service on the identified access point base station, and toinitiate multi data stream processing (e.g., see FIGS. 1 and 2, infra).

Further to the above, bifurcation component 516 can be configured toissue a command to an IP content source to split the IP content intomultiple data streams, and transmit at least a first of the multipledata streams to a macro base station serving the mobile device, and atleast a second of the multiple data streams to the identified accesspoint base station. As an alternative, bifurcation component 516 can beconfigured to instruct the IP content source to send the IP content tomobile location system 504, which can in turn be configured to generatethe multiple data streams, and transmit respective ones of the datastreams to the macro base station and the access point base station, asdescribed herein. In some aspects, bifurcation component 516 can beconfigured to include a packet sequence within corresponding datapackets of the multiple streams, linking data packets that carry thesame content. The packet sequence can be utilized by the mobile deviceto reconstruct the IP content from the multiple data streams.Optionally, bifurcation component 516 can be further configured toinstruct the respective base stations to include a quality metric withinrespective data packets transmitted by those base stations. The qualitymetric can be a metric configured for indicating a quality of service,quality of experience, signal strength, etc., parameter of respectivewireless streams. The mobile device can utilize the quality metric atleast in part to reconstruct the IP content, by selecting one of a setof data packets sharing a common sequence number that has the bestquality metric, for instance.

In some aspects of the subject disclosure, mobile location system 504can comprise an anticipation component 518 that receives periodic orupdated position information for the mobile device as a function oftime. The updated position information can be utilized to derive adirection of travel for the mobile device for estimating whether themobile device will encounter a cell boundary or stored poor service areaat some future point. If anticipation component 518 determines mobiledevice is at risk of losing service by entering the cell boundary orpoor service area, bifurcation component 516 can be triggered to searchfor an access point base station and implement the multiple data streamsas described above and elsewhere herein. By proactively tracking mobilelocation and anticipating direction of travel, risk of service loss canbe mitigated by identifying suitable access point base stations andimplementing IP session persistence.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C illustrate example use cases for which IP sessionspersistence can be employed to mitigate or avoid loss of service inmobile communications, according to one or more aspects of the subjectdisclosure. FIG. 6A illustrates a wireless environment 600A comprising amobile device 602A having a strong wireless signal 603A with a macrobase station 604A. Wireless environment 600A also includes signalobstructions, such as foliage 606A and buildings 610A, as well as aWi-Fi access point 608A and a second macro base station 612A. Mobiledevice 602A having a strong wireless signal with macro base station 604Ais not hindered by foliage 606A or buildings 610A, and little risk ofsignal loss can be expected while mobile device 602A maintains itscurrent location. In some aspects of the subject disclosure, if mobiledevice 602A is anticipated to move toward a signal obstruction, IPsession persistence can be initiated for mobile device 602A bytransmitting content to mobile device 602A via macro base station 604Aand Wi-Fi access point 608A concurrently.

FIG. 6B illustrates a wireless environment 600B similar to wirelessenvironment 600A, in which a mobile device 602B is at least partiallyobstructed by foliage 606B. Mobile device 602B has a limited wirelesssignal 605B with a macro base station 604B, as depicted by the dashedsignal, as a result of physical obstruction of the limited wirelesssignal 605B by an obstruction 606B (e.g., a set of trees, foliage, heavyunderbrush, etc.). A second obstruction 610B obstructs signals betweenmobile device 602B and a second macro base station 612B, preventing ahandover to the second macro base station 612B. In this case, IP sessionpersistence can be implemented by leveraging a Wi-Fi base station 608B,which shares a strong wireless signal 603B with mobile device 602B. IPdata content can be transmitted over limited wireless signal 605B andstrong wireless signal 603B concurrently. In some aspects, correspondingdata packets can be sequenced identically, enabling mobile device 602Bto select one of each set of corresponding data packets to reconstruct atransmitted signal. In a particular aspect, macro base station 604B andWi-Fi base station 608B can include a quality metric within therespective transmitted data streams, or within respective data packets,which can be employed at least in part by mobile device 602B forselecting a data packet among the sets of corresponding data packets.For instance, mobile device 602B can decode respective sets of datapackets, and if only one data packet of a set is successfully decoded,the one data packet can be used in reconstructing the transmittedsignal. Where more than one data packet of a set is successfullydecoded, the quality metric can be referenced in selecting amongsuccessfully decoded data packets of the set. Transmission of multiplesignals from macro base station 604B and Wi-Fi base station 603B canpersist until mobile device 602B re-establishes a strong signal with amacro base station (e.g., macro base station 604B, second macro basestation 612B), or until the limited wireless signal 605B or strongwireless signal 603B is no longer suitable for transmitting andreceiving data with mobile device 602B.

FIG. 6C illustrates a wireless environment 600C similar to wirelessenvironment 600A and wireless environment 600B, in which a mobile device602C hands off to a second macro base station 612C and no longermaintains an active wireless link with macro base station 604C. Mobiledevice 602C maintains a limited wireless signal with Wi-Fi base station608C that is partially obstructed by obstruction 610C, and anunobstructed strong signal 603C with second macro base station 612C.Mobile device 602C is not affected by obstruction 606C. In wirelessenvironment 600C, IP session persistence can be implemented utilizinglimited wireless signal 605C and strong signal 603C, as described abovewith regard to wireless environment 600B. Alternatively, the IP sessionpersistence can be terminated, and a conventional IP session can bemaintained with second macro base station 612C utilizing strong signal603C. As yet another alternative, a network can search for another Wi-Fibase station (not depicted) having a better wireless link with mobiledevice 602C than limited wireless signal 605C, with which to conduct theIP session persistence.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several systems, components or communicationinterfaces. It should be appreciated that such systems and componentscan include those components or sub-components specified therein, someof the specified components or sub-components, or additional components.For example, a system could include mobile network 502, comprisingmobile location system 504 and network database 506, and mobile device102 comprising multiple signal processing system 110, or a differentcombination of these or other entities. Sub-components could also beimplemented as modules communicatively coupled to other modules ratherthan included within parent modules. Additionally, it should be notedthat one or more components could be combined into a single componentproviding aggregate functionality. For instance, receiving component 112can include output component 124, or vice versa, to facilitate receivingmultiple data streams and outputting a single compiled data stream to amobile application, by way of a single component. The components canalso interact with one or more other components not specificallydescribed herein but known by those of skill in the art.

FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 illustrate various methods in accordance with oneor more of the various embodiments disclosed herein. While, for purposesof simplicity of explanation, the methods are shown and described as aseries of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the variousembodiments are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occurin different orders or concurrently with other acts from that shown anddescribed herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understandand appreciate that a method could alternatively be represented as aseries of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodin accordance with the various embodiments. Additionally, it should befurther appreciated that the methods disclosed hereinafter andthroughout this specification are capable of being stored on an articleof manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodsto computers. The term article of manufacture, as used herein, isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of an example method 700 for providing IPsession persistence in mobile communications according to additionalaspects of the subject disclosure. Method 700, at 702, can comprisepredicting an impending reduction in a wireless signal metric for amobile device operating within a mobile network. The predicting can bebased at least in part on determining a location of the mobile devicewithin the mobile network, and referencing the location against a set ofstored network locations having respective signal levels that satisfy acondition defined by a performance function. In some aspects, predictingthe impending reduction in the wireless signal metric further comprisesdetermining the location of the mobile device to be within at least oneof the set of stored network locations.

At 704, method 700 can comprise identifying a Wi-Fi access pointassociated with the mobile network and within operating range of themobile device. In a particular aspect, identifying the Wi-Fi accesspoint can further comprise referencing a set of stored Wi-Fi locationsand determining whether the mobile device is within operating range ofat least one of the set of stored Wi-Fi locations. Optionally, method700 can further comprise instructing the mobile device to establish awireless communication with the Wi-Fi access point in response toidentifying the Wi-Fi access point to be within the operating range, andin response to predicting the reduction in the wireless signal metric.

At 706, method 700 can comprise directing a data stream associated withcommunication content to be transmitted to the mobile deviceconcurrently through a base station of the mobile network and throughthe Wi-Fi access point, in response at least to the predicting thereduction in the wireless signal metric. In at least one aspect, method700 can further comprise directing a source of the data stream toinclude a sequencing number at least for data packets of the data streamthat are transmitted concurrently through the base station and throughthe Wi-Fi access point. The sequencing number can be implemented tocorrelate like data packets comprising like information. As a specificexample, directing the data stream to be transmitted concurrentlythrough the base station and through the Wi-Fi access point furthercomprises instructing a source of the communication content to add asequence number to data packets of the communication content, duplicatethe data packets, and address one set of duplicated data packets to thebase station and a second set of duplicated data packets to the Wi-Fiaccess point. In alternative or additional aspects, directing the datastream to be transmitted concurrently through the base station andthrough the Wi-Fi access point can further comprise receiving datapackets of the data stream, sequencing the data packets in an order ofcontent, duplicating the sequenced data packets, and sending a first setof duplicated sequenced data packets to the base station and a secondset of duplicated sequenced data packets to the Wi-Fi access point. Inat least one additional aspect, method 700 can further compriseterminating the directing the data stream to be transmitted through thebase station and through the Wi-Fi access point in response to thewireless signal metric satisfying a condition defined by a performancefunction.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a flowchart of a sample method 800 forproviding IP session persistence in mobile communications according toone or more specific aspects of the subject disclosure. At 802, method800 can comprise determining a location of a mobile device within amobile network. At 804, method 800 can comprise referencing storedservice outage locations within the mobile network. At 806, method 800can comprise optionally obtaining a signal metric from the mobiledevice. At 808, a determination can be made as to whether a loss ofsignal is anticipated for the mobile device. The determination can bemade by identifying whether the mobile device is within or near aservice outage location, or by identifying whether the signal metricsatisfies a condition defined by a signal attenuation function, or asuitable combination thereof. If no anticipated signal loss isdetermined, method 800 can return to reference number 802; otherwisemethod 800 can proceed to 810.

At 810, method 800 can comprise referencing access point base stationlocations within the mobile network. At 812, method 800 can determinewhether a suitable access point base station is available. If not,method 800 can proceed to 814 and update the mobile device location, andreturn to reference number 804; otherwise method 800 can proceed to 816.

At 816, method 800 can comprise causing an IP data stream to be splitbetween an identified access point base station and a macro basestation. At 818, method 800 can comprise continuing monitoring of themobile device location or mobile device signal metrics. At 820, adetermination can be made as to whether the signal metrics haveimproved, or whether the mobile device has left a service outagelocation. If so, method 800 can proceed to 822 and terminate the splitIP data stream. Otherwise, method 800 can proceed to 824.

Referring to FIG. 9, at 824 method 800 can comprise determining whetherthe access point base station signal is suitable for delivering the IPdata stream to the mobile device. If not, method 800 can proceed to 826and acquire current mobile device location information, and return toreference number 810. If the access point base station is suitable fordelivering the IP data stream to the mobile device, method 800 canproceed to 828 and increase a time counter, and return to referencenumber 820.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a sample method 1000 for anticipatinga dropped call for a mobile device and implementing IP sessionpersistence to mitigate or avoid the dropped call. At 1002, method 1000can comprise anticipating whether a loss of signal will occur for amobile device operating within a mobile network. At 1004, method 1000can comprise tracking location of the mobile device over time. At 1006,method 1000 can comprise anticipating a direction of movement of themobile device. At 1008, method 1000 can comprise referencing basestation and access point locations along the direction of movement. At1010, a determination can be made as to whether a serving radio accessnetwork can provide sufficient signal quality or quality of experiencefor the mobile device. If so, method 1000 can proceed to 1012 andcontinue to route data content to the mobile device solely through theradio access network. If the serving radio access network cannot providesufficient signal quality or quality of experience, method 1000 canproceed to 1014 and split content through the radio access network andthrough an access point location concurrently.

Referring now to FIG. 11, illustrated is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative mobile device 1100 capable of maintaining concurrentwireless communication with a radio access network and an access pointbase station, in accordance with some embodiments described herein.Although a mobile handset 1100 is illustrated herein, it will beunderstood that other devices can be a mobile device, and that themobile handset 1100 is merely illustrated to provide context for theembodiments described herein. The following discussion is intended toprovide a brief, general description of an example of a suitableenvironment 1100 in which some of the various disclosed embodiments canbe implemented. While the description includes a general context ofcomputer-executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storagemedium, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspectsalso can be implemented in combination with other program modules or asa combination of hardware, software or firmware.

Generally, applications (e.g., program modules) can include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described herein canbe practiced with other system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like,each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associateddevices. Further, illustrated aspects of the subject disclosure can bepracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network (e.g., mobile handset 1100 communicating througha mobile communication network). In a distributed computing environment,systems and system components, as well as program modules can be locatedin both local and remote memory storage devices.

A computing device such as mobile handset 1100 can typically include avariety of media, which can include computer-readable storage media orcommunication media, which two terms are used herein differently fromone another as follows.

Computer readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by a computer (e.g., mobile handset 1100) and includesboth volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media.By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable storage mediacan be implemented in connection with any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or unstructured data. Computer-readablestorage media can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM, digital versatile disk(DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or othertangible or non-transitory media which can be used to store desiredinformation. Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one ormore local or remote computing devices, e.g., via access requests,queries or other data retrieval protocols, for a variety of operationswith respect to the information stored by the medium.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism, and includes any suitable information delivery ortransport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way ofexample, and not limitation, communication media includes wired mediasuch as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

Mobile handset 1100 includes a processor 1102 for controlling andprocessing onboard operations and functions. A memory 1104 interfaces tothe processor 1102 for storage of data and one or more applications 1106(e.g., a video player software, user feedback or user input componentsoftware, etc.). Other applications can include voice recognition ofpredetermined voice commands that facilitate receipt of user input. Theapplications 1106 can be stored in the memory 1104 and/or in a firmware1108, and executed by the processor 1102 from either or both the memory1104 or the firmware 1108. The firmware 1108 can also store startup codefor execution in initializing mobile handset 1100. A communicationscomponent 1110 interfaces to the processor 1102 to facilitatewired/wireless communication with external systems, e.g., cellularnetworks, VoIP networks, Wi-Fi networks, and so on. Here, thecommunications component 1110 can also include a suitable cellulartransceiver 1111A (e.g., a global system for mobile communication (GSM)transceiver, a code division multiple access (CDMA) transceiver, . . . )or an unlicensed transceiver 1111B (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMAX) forcorresponding signal communications. Mobile handset 1100 can be a devicesuch as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobile communicationscapabilities, and messaging-centric devices, and so on. Thecommunications component 1110 can also facilitate communicationsreception from terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digitalsatellite radio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.

Mobile handset 1100 includes a display 1112 for displaying text, images,video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setupfunctions, and for user input. For example, the display 1112 can also bereferred to as a “screen” that can accommodate the presentation ofmultimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpaper, graphics,video, etc.). The display 1112 can also display videos and canfacilitate the generation, editing and sharing of graphical or videoapplications. A serial I/O interface 1114 is provided in communicationwith the processor 1102 to facilitate wired and/or wireless serialcommunications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE 1194) through a hardwireconnection, and other serial input devices (e.g., a keyboard, keypad,and mouse). This supports updating and troubleshooting mobile handset1100, for example. Audio capabilities are provided with an audio I/Ocomponent 1116, which can include a speaker for the output of audiosignals related to, for example, indication that the user pressed theproper key or key combination to initiate the user feedback signal. Theaudio I/O component 1116 also facilitates the input of audio signalsthrough a microphone to record data and/or telephony voice data, and forinputting voice signals for telephone conversations.

Mobile handset 1100 can include a slot interface 1118 for accommodatinga SIC (Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a cardSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) or universal SIM 1120, and interfacingthe SIM card 1120 with the processor 1102. However, it is to beappreciated that the SIM card 1120 can be manufactured into the handset1100, and updated by downloading data and software.

The handset 1100 can process IP data traffic through the communicationcomponent 1110 to accommodate IP traffic from an IP network such as, forexample, the Internet, a corporate intranet, a home network, a personalarea network, etc., through an ISP or broadband cable provider. Thus,VoIP traffic can be utilized by the handset 1100 and IP-based multimediacontent can be received in either an encoded or decoded format.

A graphics processing component 1122 (e.g., a camera) can be providedfor decoding encoded multimedia content. The graphics processingcomponent 1122 can aid in facilitating the generation, playback, editingand sharing of graphical media. Mobile handset 1100 also includes apower source 1124 in the form of batteries and/or an AC power subsystem,which power source 1124 can interface to an external power system orcharging equipment (not shown) by a power I/O component 1126.

Mobile handset 1100 can also include a video component 1130 forprocessing video content received and, for recording and transmittingvideo content. For example, the video component 1130 can facilitate thegeneration, editing and sharing of video media. A location trackingcomponent 1132 facilitates geographically locating mobile handset 1100.A user input component 1134 facilitates the user inputting information,responses or selections into mobile handset 1100. The user inputcomponent 1134 can include such input device technologies such as akeypad, keyboard, mouse, stylus pen, or touch screen, for example.

Referring again to the applications 1106, a hysteresis component 1136facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which isutilized to determine when to associate with an access point. A softwaretrigger component 1138 can be provided that facilitates triggering ofthe hysteresis component 1138 when the Wi-Fi transceiver 1113 detectsthe beacon of the access point. A SIP client 1140 enables the handset1100 to support SIP protocols and register the subscriber with a SIPregistrar server. The applications 1106 can also include a client 1142that provides at least the capability of discovery, play and store ofmultimedia content, for example, music.

Mobile handset 1100, as indicated above relates to the communicationscomponent 1110, includes an indoor network radio transceiver 1111B(e.g., Wi-Fi transceiver). This function supports the indoor radio link,such as IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, . . . ), and other 802.xx protocols(e.g., BlueTooth, Zigbee, . . . ) in the event mobile handset 1100comprises a dual-mode handset. Mobile handset 1100 can accommodate atleast satellite radio services through a handset that can combinewireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handheld device.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example embodiment of anaccess point (AP 1205) to implement and exploit one or more features oraspects of the disclosed subject matter. In embodiment 1200, AP 1205 canreceive and transmit signal(s) (e.g., attachment signaling) from and towireless devices like Femto access points, access terminals, wirelessports and routers, wireless handsets, or the like, through a set ofantennas 1220 ₁-1020 _(N) (N is a positive integer). It should beappreciated that antennas 1220 ₁-1020 _(N) can embody macro basestations 206, 302, 604A-604C, which can be a part of communicationplatform 1215, which comprises electronic components and associatedcircuitry that provides for processing and manipulation of receivedsignal(s) and signal(s) to be transmitted. In an aspect, communicationplatform 1215 includes a receiver/transmitter 1216 that can convertwireless signals from analog to digital upon reception, and from digitalto analog upon transmission. In addition, receiver/transmitter 1216 candivide a single data stream into multiple, parallel data streams, orperform a reciprocal operation. Coupled to receiver/transmitter 1216 isa multiplexer/demultiplexer 1217 that facilitates manipulation of signalin time and frequency space. Electronic component 1217 can multiplexinformation (data/traffic and control/signaling) according to variousmultiplexing schemes such as time division multiplexing (TDM), frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), space division multiplexing(SDM), . . . . In addition, multiplexer/demultiplexer component 1217 canscramble and spread information (e.g., codes) according to substantiallyany code known in the art; e.g., Hadamard-Walsh codes, Baker codes,Kasami codes, polyphase codes, and so on. A modulator/demodulator 1218is also a part of communication platform 1215, and can modulateinformation according to multiple modulation techniques, such asfrequency modulation, amplitude modulation (e.g., M-ary quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM), with M a positive integer), phase-shiftkeying (PSK), and the like. Communication platform 1215 can also includea coder/decoder (codec) component 1219 that facilitates decodingreceived signal(s), and coding signal(s) to convey.

Access point 1205 also includes a processor 1235 configured to conferfunctionality, at least in part, to substantially any electroniccomponent in AP 1205. In particular, processor 1235 can facilitatedetermination of propagation delay information of RF signal, ormicrowave signal, among communication platform 1215 and antennas 1220₁-1020 _(N) to facilitate estimating a position of a mobile device inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein. Powersupply 1225 can attach to a power grid and include one or moretransformers to achieve power level that can operate AP 1205 componentsand circuitry. Additionally, power supply 1225 can include arechargeable power component to ensure operation when AP 1205 isdisconnected from the power grid, or in instances, the power grid is notoperating.

Processor 1235 can also be functionally connected to communicationplatform 1215 and can facilitate operations on data (e.g., symbols,bits, or chips) for multiplexing/demultiplexing, such as effectingdirect and inverse fast Fourier transforms, selection of modulationrates, selection of data packet formats, inter-packet times, etc.Moreover, processor 1235 can be functionally connected, via a data orsystem bus, to calibration platform 1212 and other components (notshown) to confer, at least in part functionality to each of suchcomponents.

In AP 1205, memory 1245 can store data structures, code instructions andprogram modules, system or device information, code sequences forscrambling, spreading and pilot transmission, location intelligencestorage, determined delay offset(s), over-the-air propagation models,and so on. Processor 1235 is coupled to the memory 1245 in order tostore and retrieve information necessary to operate and/or conferfunctionality to communication platform 1215, calibration platform 1212,and other components (not shown) of access point 1205.

FIG. 13 presents an example embodiment 1300 of a mobile network platform1310 that can implement and exploit one or more aspects of the disclosedsubject matter described herein. For instance, mobile network platform1310 can be utilized by, or at least in part subsumed within, network402 of FIG. 4. In another aspect, mobile network(s) 104 or 502 caninclude, in whole or in part, mobile network platform 1310. In yet otheraspects, mobile network platform 1310 can control or provide networkfunctionality for WiFi AP 204, 608A, 608B or 608C, or for macro basestation 206, 304, 604A, 604B or 604C, or a suitable combination thereof.

Generally, mobile network platform 1310 can include components, e.g.,nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, thatfacilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP),frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS)traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation fornetworked wireless telecommunication. Mobile network platform 1310includes CS gateway node(s) 1312 which can interface CS traffic receivedfrom legacy networks like telephony network(s) 1340 (e.g., publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN))or a signaling system #7 (SS7) network 1370. Circuit switched gatewaynode(s) 1312 can authorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice)arising from such networks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 1312 canaccess mobility, or roaming, data generated through SS7 network 1370;for instance, mobility data stored in a visited location register (VLR),which can reside in memory 1330. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 1312interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PS gateway node(s) 1318.As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gateway node(s) 1312 can berealized at least in part in gateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). Itshould be appreciated that functionality and specific operation of CSgateway node(s) 1312, PS gateway node(s) 1318, and serving node(s) 1316,is provided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilized by mobilenetwork platform 1310 for telecommunication.

In the disclosed subject matter, in addition to receiving and processingCS-switched traffic and signaling, PS gateway node(s) 1318 can authorizeand authenticate PS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Datasessions can include traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networksexternal to the mobile network platform 1310, like wide area network(s)(WANs) 1350, enterprise network(s) 1370, and service network(s) 1380,which can be embodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also beinterfaced with mobile network platform 1310 through PS gateway node(s)1318. It is to be noted that WANs 1350 and enterprise network(s) 1360can embody, at least in part, a service network(s) like IP multimediasubsystem (IMS). Based on radio technology layer(s) available intechnology resource(s) 1317, packet-switched gateway node(s) 1318 cangenerate packet data protocol contexts when a data session isestablished; other data structures that facilitate routing of packetizeddata also can be generated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gatewaynode(s) 1318 can include a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel terminationgateway (TTG) in 3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitatepacketized communication with disparate wireless network(s), such asWi-Fi networks.

In embodiment 1300, mobile network platform 1310 also includes servingnode(s) 1316 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) 1317, convey the various packetized flows of datastreams received through PS gateway node(s) 1318. It is to be noted thatfor technology resource(s) 1317 that rely primarily on CS communication,server node(s) can deliver traffic without reliance on PS gatewaynode(s) 1318; for example, server node(s) can embody at least in part amobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, servingnode(s) 1316 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)1314 in mobile network platform 1310 can execute numerous applications(e.g., location services, wireless device management, identifying nearbyWiFi access points, providing IP session persistence services forsuitable mobile devices, . . . ) that can generate multiple disparatepacketized data streams or flows, and manage (e.g., schedule, queue,format, duplicate, direct, . . . ) such flows. Such application(s) caninclude add-on features to standard services (for example, provisioning,billing, customer support . . . ) provided by mobile network platform1310. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that are part of a voice call ordata session) can be conveyed to PS gateway node(s) 1318 forauthorization/authentication and initiation of a data session, and toserving node(s) 1316 for communication thereafter. In addition toapplication server, server(s) 1314 can include utility server(s), autility server can include a provisioning server, an operations andmaintenance server, a security server that can implement at least inpart a certificate authority and firewalls as well as other securitymechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s) securecommunication served through mobile network platform 1310 to ensurenetwork's operation and data integrity in addition to authorization andauthentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 1312 and PS gatewaynode(s) 1318 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s) can provisionservices from external network(s) like networks operated by a disparateservice provider; for instance, WAN 1350 or Global Positioning System(GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s) can also provisioncoverage through networks associated to mobile network platform 1310(e.g., deployed and operated by the same service provider), such asFemto cell network(s) or Wi-Fi network(s) (not shown) that enhancewireless service coverage within indoor or confined spaces and offloador share RAN resources in order to enhance subscriber service experiencewithin a home or business environment.

It is to be noted that server(s) 1314 can include one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of macro networkplatform 1310. To that end, the one or more processors can execute codeinstructions stored in memory 1330, for example.

In example embodiment 1300, memory 1330 can store information related tooperation of mobile network platform 1310. In particular, memory 1330can include contents of network database 506 in example system 500.Other operational information can include provisioning information ofmobile devices served through wireless platform network 1310, subscriberdatabases; application intelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotionalrates, flat-rate programs, subscription services which can include an IPsession persistence service; technical specification(s) consistent withtelecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, orwireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 1330 can also storeinformation from at least one of telephony network(s) 1340, WAN 1350,enterprise network(s) 1360, or SS7 network 1370.

It is to be noted that aspects, and features of the disclosed subjectmatter described in the subject specification can be exploited insubstantially any wireless communication technology. For instance,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Enhanced GPRS, 3GPP LTE, 3GPP2 UMB, 3GPP UMTS, HSPA,HSDPA, HSUPA,GERAN, UTRAN, LTE Advanced. Additionally, substantially allaspects of the disclosed subject matter as disclosed in the subjectspecification can be exploited in legacy telecommunication technologies;e.g., GSM. In addition, mobile as well non-mobile networks (e.g.,internet, data service network such as internet protocol television(IPTV)) can exploit aspects or features described herein.

Various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as amethod, apparatus or system, or article of manufacture using standardprogramming or engineering techniques. In addition, various aspects orfeatures disclosed in the subject specification also can be effectedthrough program modules that implement at least one or more of themethods disclosed herein, the program modules being stored in a memoryand executed by at least a processor. Other combinations of hardware andsoftware or hardware and firmware can enable or implement aspectsdescribed herein, including disclosed method(s). The term “article ofmanufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer programaccessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. Forexample, computer readable media can include but are not limited tomagnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips. . . ), optical discs (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc(DVD), blu-ray disc (BD) . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices(e.g., card, stick, key drive . . . ).

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures suchas, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors,switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhanceperformance of user equipment. A processor may also be implemented as acombination of computing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory componentsof systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without beinglimited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

What has been described above includes examples of systems and methodsthat provide aspects of the disclosed subject matter. It is, of course,not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components ormethodologies for purposes of describing the disclosed subject matter,but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many furthercombinations and permutations of the subject matter are possible.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,”“possesses,” and the like are used in the detailed description, claims,appendices and drawings such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpretedwhen employed as a transitional word in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; acommunication interface; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitateperformance of operations, comprising: determining a geographic positionof a mobile device; comparing the geographic position of the mobiledevice to respective stored geographic positions for which networksignal performance has been determined to satisfy a condition defined bya first performance function; estimating signal performance of themobile device in response to the comparing the position of the mobiledevice with the respective stored geographic positions; determiningwhether the mobile device satisfies a geographic condition with respectto one of the respective stored geographic positions; identifying analternate network access point device suitable to serve the mobiledevice; determining whether the alternate network access point devicesatisfies a second condition defined by a second performance function;and transmitting a command via the communication interface to a networkdevice of a mobile network to cause content to be duplicated into afirst content stream and a second content stream, to cause a firsttransmission of the first content stream to the mobile device via thenetwork device concurrent with a second transmission of the secondcontent stream to the mobile device via the alternate network accesspoint device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting thecommand is in response to the mobile device being determined to satisfythe geographic condition.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thetransmitting the command is in response to the alternate network accesspoint device being determined to satisfy the second condition.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the command is in responseto the mobile device being determined to satisfy the geographiccondition and the alternate network access point device being determinedto satisfy the second condition.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thegeographic condition is a geographic distance between the geographicposition of the mobile device and one of the respective storedgeographic positions.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise monitoring changes in position of the mobile device. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein the operations further compriseestimating a direction of movement of the mobile device in response tomonitoring the changes in position of the mobile device.
 8. The systemof claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise anticipating afuture position of the mobile device relative to a subset of therespective stored geographic positions.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein transmitting the command is in response to the future positionof the mobile device being determined to satisfy the geographiccondition with respect to one of the respective stored geographicpositions.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations furthercomprise transmitting a second command via the communication interfaceto the mobile network to cause termination of the content beingduplicated into the first content stream and the second content stream.11. The system of claim 10, wherein transmitting the second command isin response to determining the future position satisfies a secondgeographic condition with respect to the subset of the respective storedgeographic positions.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise directing a source of the content to: generate a set ofsequencing numbers for the content; include one sequencing number of theset of sequencing numbers in respective data packets of the firstcontent stream; and include matching sequencing numbers of the set ofsequencing numbers in respective data packets of the second contentstream, the respective data packets of the second content stream beingcopies of the respective data packets of the first content stream.
 13. Amethod, comprising: estimating, by a system comprising a processor,signal performance of a mobile device based on a position of the mobiledevice relative to a set of stored locations for which network signalperformance satisfies a condition defined by a first performancefunction; identifying, by the system, an alternate network access pointdevice suitable for serving the mobile device; and transmitting, by thesystem, a command to cause content to be duplicated and transmitted tothe mobile device via the alternate network access point device and anetwork base station concurrently, in response to the mobile devicenearing one of the set of stored locations and in response to thealternate network access point device satisfying a condition defined bya second performance function.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising monitoring, by the system, changes in position of the mobiledevice.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising estimating, bythe system, a direction of movement of the mobile device from thechanges in position.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisinganticipating, by the system, a future position of the mobile devicerelative to a subset of the set of stored locations in response tomonitoring the changes in position and estimating the direction ofmovement.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting,by the system, a second command over the interface to cause terminationof duplication of the content, in response to the future positionsatisfying a geographic condition with respect to the subset of the setof stored locations.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprisingmaintaining, by the system, the duplication of the content, in responseto the future position not satisfying a geographic condition withrespect to the subset of the set of stored locations.
 19. A system,comprising: a processor; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitateperformance of operations, comprising: estimating signal performance ofa mobile device based on position of the mobile device relative to a setof stored locations for which network signal performance satisfies acondition defined by a first performance function; identifying analternate network access point device able to serve the mobile device;and transmitting a command to a network device to cause content to beduplicated and transmitted to the mobile device via the alternatenetwork access point device and a base station device concurrently, inresponse to the mobile device being determined to be nearing one of theset of stored locations and in response to the alternate network accesspoint device being determined to satisfy a second condition defined by asecond performance function.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein theoperations further comprise: monitoring changes in position of themobile device; estimating a direction of movement of the mobile device;predicting a future position of the mobile device relative to a subsetof the set of stored locations; and terminating duplication of thecontent based on a comparison of the future position with the subset ofthe set of stored locations.